In response to your why would i ever want a pramp again question, I thought I'd give you a few ideas. I owned a Levinson 380 before I bought a 39. I thought I was in heaven until I upgraded the 39 to a 390S. That was just amazing - stunning is perhaps a better adjective. I remember thinking to myself giddily "I have just made my last digital purchase".
SO THEN! I had to take down the rig for awhile. When I set it all back up, "just for fun", I took the 380 out of the chain, ran the 390 to my amp with some nice short cables and put on one of my favorite discs. I spent the next 4 hours trying to get my jaw off the floor. The 380 has not been back in the rig since. Well... once more just to be certain, but not since.
Now, I do also enjoy vinyl. In my rig I actually unplug the 390s, and I connect my table/phono pre direct to the amp when I want to do analog listening. I have the table going into an older but super clean Threshold Fet nine pre-amp. I could run the 390 into the Threshold as well if I wanted, but I prefer the sound of the 390 direct so much that I don't use any preamp when I listen to digital sources. To answer your question directly, you need a preamp IF you listen to analog sources or a digital source that the 390s can't decode (like SACD or DVD-A). Other than that you don't need one.
If you're wondering about the 380, yes, I sold the 380 - the 390s is *THAT* good. I have alot of CD and DAT material. In my system the ML's digital processing is close to perfect. And I mean PERFECT. It's neutrality and musical presentation is absolutely phenomenal. But couple that performance with the most elegant, dead quiet, perfect 2 source digital preamp as well? Hands down one of the best "values" out there if you consider what you have to spend to acquire this level of sonic performance in two boxes.
SO THEN! I had to take down the rig for awhile. When I set it all back up, "just for fun", I took the 380 out of the chain, ran the 390 to my amp with some nice short cables and put on one of my favorite discs. I spent the next 4 hours trying to get my jaw off the floor. The 380 has not been back in the rig since. Well... once more just to be certain, but not since.
Now, I do also enjoy vinyl. In my rig I actually unplug the 390s, and I connect my table/phono pre direct to the amp when I want to do analog listening. I have the table going into an older but super clean Threshold Fet nine pre-amp. I could run the 390 into the Threshold as well if I wanted, but I prefer the sound of the 390 direct so much that I don't use any preamp when I listen to digital sources. To answer your question directly, you need a preamp IF you listen to analog sources or a digital source that the 390s can't decode (like SACD or DVD-A). Other than that you don't need one.
If you're wondering about the 380, yes, I sold the 380 - the 390s is *THAT* good. I have alot of CD and DAT material. In my system the ML's digital processing is close to perfect. And I mean PERFECT. It's neutrality and musical presentation is absolutely phenomenal. But couple that performance with the most elegant, dead quiet, perfect 2 source digital preamp as well? Hands down one of the best "values" out there if you consider what you have to spend to acquire this level of sonic performance in two boxes.